Improvement in fences



A. G. HULBERT. Pence.

No. 218,747. Patented Aug. 19,1879.

16.]. FIG. 2. FIG.

boards and confining parts.

PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR e. HULBERT, or MARSHALLTOWN, IOWA.

IMPROVEMENT IN FENCES.

Specification fomning part of Letters Patent No. 218,747, dated August19, 1879; application filed December 4, 1878. i I

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, ARTHUR G. HULBERT, of Marshalltown, Marshall county,and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inFastening Clips for Fences, of which the following is' a specification.

Ihave devised an improved means of attach ing the boards and wires orother longitudi' nal parts to the uprights or posts at any requiredheight.

I employ metallic posts of uniform section. I employ clips or handsembracing the post, having one or more keyways on their inner faces,which receive tapering keys or hooks. I use these keys or hooks, whichare peculiarly formed, to confine the longitudinal parts of the fence tothe posts.

The keys each have a curved prong or arm,

which, after the key is driven, may be forced into the board or bentaround to form a proper support for a wire. I can use boards withoutwires or wires without boards.

When desired, boards and wires may be attached to the same post, asshown in Fig. 1,

making a combined board and wire fence.

' The accompanying drawings form a part of this specification, andrepresent what I consider the best means of carrying out the invention.

Figure l is an elevation of the posts and attachments with my inventionapplied in two forms, the uppermost holding a wire and the lowermostholding the ends of two boards. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on theline S S in Fig. 1. The remaining figures represent details detached.Fig. 3 shows the key alone ready for use. Fig. 4: is a perspective view,showing the key and clips alone as applied to hold the wire. Fig. v,5 isa plan view on a smaller scale, showing the arrangement of the Figs. 6and 7 represent modifications of the .keys, and Fig. 8 represents twoways in which I may make my clips.

The drawings represent the post as a tube. I prefer to use such postswith suitable cast bases; but this is not essential.

Similar letters of reference represent corresponding parts in all thefigures.

A is the body of an upright post, and B is a board, which forms one ofthe longitudinal stretchers of the fence.

0 O are hooks or clips loosely embracing the post, each formed with akeyway, c, or with two keyways, c c.

D D cl represent one of my keys. It has a shoulder, d, to allow it to bedriven forcibly by percussion applied through any suitable set. Thetapering part D applies in the key-seat c, and confines the clipO firmlyto .the post A at the desired elevation.

In securing boards, after the key is driven, the board B is applied inthe desired position, and one or more blows on the curved part D forcesits pointed end into the board and holds it firmly. If the boards arewide, a similar clip, 0 c, with a similarkey, D D d, is applied in thereverse position to hold the lower edge of the board. This condition isshownin Fig.1.

The arm D of the key should bemade sufficiently stout and sharpened.

When boards are used I can apply the boards in the ordinary manner, andwith their ends abutting, and confine theends of each by a single prong,D, made of considerable width; but the hold thus obtained would beobviously slight. I can make special keys with two arms, D, spreadapart, so as to get a stronger hold on the two abutting boards.

A better hold can be obtainedby abutting the boards considerably oneupon the other, and using keys with sufficiently long prongs D to reachover both, and when driven home to penetrate the outer one and engagewith the inner one. 7

What I consider a better plan is that shown in Figs. 1 and 2, where theends of the two boards are represented as applying on opposite sides ofthe post. This requires two keyseats, 0 c, and two of my keys, D D d.

Modifications may be made. When the longitudinal stretcher is a wire,the wire is applied in the desired position, and the curved part D ofthe key is curled quite around. This condition is shown in Fig. 4.. As afurther modification the wire may be secured by an indentation, E, inthe side of the key neat to the post, as shown in Fig. 6, or by a slot,F, on the opposite side of the key partially or-entirely closed afterthe wire is inserted, as indicated in Fig. 7. In these instances thekeys may be also made with the curved part D, to enable them to holdboards when required, or the curved part D may be omitted.

Should it be desired to bind the wires at each post, so as to preventitsdrawing through the fastener, the indentation may be made sufficientlysmall, so that when the key is driven the wire will be held firmlyclasped between the key and the post; or in using the hook D it may beclosed tightlyto prevent the wire from drawing through.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination, with a fence-post, of a keyhaving a curved prong or recessed por- A. G. HULBERT.

Witnesses OBED OAswELL, J. F. MEEKER.

